


These three kings

by frostedquill



Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types
Genre: M/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-09
Updated: 2015-10-09
Packaged: 2018-04-25 11:07:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4958128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/frostedquill/pseuds/frostedquill
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>in the aftermath of the battle Bard is forced to shoulder the mantel of ruling while dealing with personal loss. Meanwhile Dain and Thranduil, each on their own, conspire to make him king of Dale.</p>
            </blockquote>





	These three kings

**Author's Note:**

> This has been a long time coming. I'm posting this since I can't finish my "En La Cama" Barduil AU due to my computer troubles.

It was with an internal sigh that Thranduil surveyed the field before him. Milling about his people was King Bard, followed by a younger boy Thranduil was sure was not his son. As he watched the Dragonslayer return to shovelling, he was glad he had forgone his more expensive clothing. The crowd of men slowly parted as he moved towards their king.

"Lord Thranduil." Bard greeted planting the shovel in the ground.

"Lord Bard." Thranduil returned. "I see that you are well."

"As are you. May I help you with something?" The mortal's tone was rather impatient, Thranduil noted with a frown.

"I was hoping that you would have a moment to talk." Thranduil told him.

"Does it have to be now?"

"I would prefer it." Thranduil replied.

"Very well, here." Bard replied passing him a shovel. "We have to move up top." Bard informed him before climbing on the pile of rock.

Thranduil never knew what he was about to say because he caught sight of Lúthon rushing towards them. Unconsciously, he tightened his grip around the hilt of his shovel.

"Milord, let me!" he exclaimed extending his hands to accept the shovel.

Had it been any other ellon that had offered Thranduil would have accepted.Thranduil knew he meant well, he always did, however he made Thranduil feel like an invalid.

"I am fine Lúthon." Thranduil refuted, his voice breaking no room for discussion.

"But milord..."

"Thank you Lúthon." Thranduil said handing him his outer robe.

Thranduil lightly rejoined Bard on the pile of debris. The mortal looked between him and Lúthon warily then back to Thranduil before placing his shovel behind a large block and using his body weight to make it slide down.

"What may I help you with?"

"I wish to know if you had met with the dwarves already." Thranduil asked mimicking his actions.

"No, not in any official capacity. I've only spoken to ser Bofur."

"Bofur." Thranduil repeated carefully.

"He is a toymaker."

Thranduil was startled. Why on earth would the bargeman meet with a toymaker?

"I sent word to the dwarf camp, asking for the date of the final rites." Bard told him removing another block of stone. "I also sent men to help them with their dead. I suppose when they are ready they shall make contact."

Thranduil was slightly impressed. He had not expected for the humble dragonslayer to be capable of such subtlety.

"They have lost not only the king but his heirs. It will take time for them to come to a decision."

"Do you know how they shall decide."

"From what I know of dwarven custom, the throne goes to the member of the royal family with an heir. As of now that appears to be Dain."

"What of you?"

"That is not of concern for now." Thranduil replied. "When you plan to talk to the dwarves what shall you discuss?"

"The first topic will be Dale itself." Bard replied. "From what I remember the city of Dale was built on dwarven land, I do not know whether or not my people have a true claim to Dale. Would you happen to know?"

"I shall have my archivist verify if we have a copy of the property agreements."

"Thank you milord." Bard did not smile but he looked slightly relieved.

They spoke no more and Thranduil soon lost himself in the menial task. The sheer physicality of the task was surprisingly therapeutic and allowed him to think more clearly. He had not decided what to do with the mortals of Laketown but they were proving to be interesting particularly the mortal before him.

"Help!!!! Please help!" The cry startled Thranduil from his reverie.

Bard knelt by the hole.

"Help is here Subi. Please tell me how many of you are there and what your surroundings are like?"

"We are two.The room is large and we are beneath an alcove. The top part of the building collapsed on us. It is I and an injured elf. I am afraid that my partner is seriously injured he has a festering stab wound and he keeps slipping in and out of consciousness."

"Can you tell if everything is stable and how many men can the room hold?"

"I think we can take four more. Please hurry."

Thranduil turned to call two of his ellyn. He turned back in time to seen Bard jump in the hole. "Bard!" Thranduil called surprised.

He dimly heard Lúthon yelling a desperate Hîr nin! as he jumped in after Bard. He found Bard crouched next to the ellon. Thranduil's heart nearly stopped as he recognized the discarded sword by the ellon's side.

He quickly advanced towards them. Galuchin's head rested limply in the  young woman's lap, his eyes closed and his breathing labored.Judging by the depth of the wound and its progress the woman had done surprisingly good work with her limited supplies. In fact she had managed to stall the poison's progression and buy them precious time.   

"Hîr nin!" Lúthon called desperately. "Are you alright?"

"We are currently four in here, including an injured and unconscious ellon stabbed with a poisoned blade on the lower left quadrant."

"The hole is not large enough for his body to pass through." Bard called. "Or the structure stable enough to enlarge it. We shall need support beams."

"I am coming down." Lúthon announced. "I shall gather my supplies."

"Subira can you stand?"

" I am not leaving him." The young woman announced stubbornly. "He doesn't like the dark.I can't abandon him."

"You are not abandoning him." Bard said soothingly. "We are asking that you make room for someone who can heal him."

"He shouldn't be alone."

"You did good work, Lúthon can finish what you started." Thranduil told her soothingly. She nodded hesitantly and sighed. She murmured a blessing in a language foreign to Thranduil's ears before tenderly placing Galuchin's head on the floor.

She, with Bard's assistance, climbed out of the hole. Thranduil could hear her ask, firmly, for Feren and almost smiled before turning back to Galachin. They were quickly replaced by Lúthon and Arahael. After a good amount of debate they managed to extract the wounded elf.

Thranduil watched worriedly as Feren trailed after the two elves carrying the stretcher.

"Galion arrange for our troops to scout the ruins for the living."

"I am afraid you are too late milord." Galion informed him. "The dark lady has already dispatched several elven troops to scour the for the living."

Thranduil rose a brow.

"She emerged from the hole barking orders at the men and ellyn to organize more search parties, in hopes to find more survivors."

The elves and the men, led by Thranduil, Bard and a tired healer in training that refused to rest, spent the rest of the day scouring the ruins for survivors. they found four uninjured but traumatized elves, six humans and two dwarves.

_____

Two days later Thranduil found himself facing a council of dwarves. On either side of him were two empty chairs. The dwarven council was comprised of what remained of the company of Thorin Oakenshield, and Daín. He had an inkling of why they requested his presence. He was impatient to see the mortal leader. The rider he had dispatched had returned this morning but he had not had the time to meet with Bard, prior this gathering.

Lord Bard arrived,followed by the young blond haired child he had seen by the man's side. They were followed by Mithrandir and the hobbit. The small creature looked rather exhausted and sad, while Bard looked grim and tired. He greeted them politely though he did not look like he was conscious of his words.

"Let's get started." Dain declared. "Thorin, Fili and Kili have been embalmed. Dwarven funeral rights would have them exposed for two months before the final rights but given the chaotic situation We have decided on five weeks. Who will be attending?"

"I believe we all will." Gandalf replied looking about the table. "Though Bilbo and I must depart soon after."

"Would you mind delaying two extra days?"

"Not at all." Bilbo replied.

"I shall depart with you." Thranduil added. "Lasgalen would be happy to host you for several days."

"For what price?" Dain asked.

"No price..” Thranduil replied calmly.

“You expect us to believe that? There is always a price with elves.”

“Bilbo Baggins has proven himself to be a friend of my people.”

“Do you jail all of your friends?”

“ I have never jailed any of my friends. Did you sleep in a cell master Baggins?” Thranduil replied serenely.

“No, I…” the hobbit began.

“There you have it lord Dain.” Thranduil confirmed causing Dain to redden.

“Are there any customs we should observe? I have never attended a dwarven funeral.” Bard said subtly reminding them of the grimness of the situation.

“Dress simply, no adornments or bright colors.” Balin explained, glad for the change of subject.

"How many people am I allowed to have with me?"

"We will have whoever wishes to show their respects." Dain replied gruffly."On that note, thank you for the men you sent to our aide."

"You are welcomed." Bard replied gravely.

"We're there anymore dwarves found beneath the ruins?"

"Mostly men. Some elves also, since they came to our aid, but only two dwarves." Bard explained. His tone was grave and face his face hinted at nothing.

Dain shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"I hope that that they are all right." The dwarf said gruffly.

"Most of them were more scared than harmed. We have hope that the wounded will recover."

"That is good." Dain grunted.

"Perhaps we should discuss of what will come next. I imagine that the displaced dwarves of Erebor are on their way back?" Gandalf began looking at the company.

"Aye we've already received word." Dain replied. "It will take some time but the halls of Erebor will be full once more."

"Lady Dis is coming ahead with one party."  Dwalin explained gruffly.

"We would appreciate if you would let our people pass through the woods."Balin addressed.

"Now why on earth would I do that?" Thranduil asked coldly.

"Proof that you have a heart?" Dain said wryly.

"The last times I allowed dwarves through my woods I lost several of my men to  orcs that were pursuing them, and they managed to wake a dragon, destroying countless lives, mortal, and elven alike.Please give me logical reasons to allow your people through."

"I understand that you have your grievances Thranduil..." Gandalf began.

"Stay out of this Mithrandir, your precious Imladris and Lorien are safe, you should be content." Thranduil interrupted.

"We understand, your concerns." Balin began. “B…”

“Then my refusal should come to no surprise to you.” Thranduil interrupted.

“King Thranduil…”

“Your greed and selfishness has brought nothing but trouble to my people.”

“IS THAT SO?”

“Who’s brilliant idea was it to wake a dragon? Who brought it here to the first place?”

“Let us not forget that you came to fill your pocket with our riches.”

“I did not come here for a couple of gems.”

“Then why lift your ass from your comfortable throne then? Don’t tell me it was to slay a dragon.”

“I came to aid the men of Dale.”

“Altruism? Even better.”

“You say that as though you came to help.”

“Speaking of the battle, what are we to do with all the orcish corpse lying around?” Bard interrupted. Truly his head hurt from all their bickering. He was glad that this position was only temporary. He couldn’t imagine having to mediate between the two forever. “Will we have time to remove all the corpse before they poison the land and water supply?”

“We shall hopefully in time.”

“Thank you for your assistance in this matter lord Bard.” Balin said gratefully.

“You are welcomed.” Bard agreed.

“Will other dignitaries be coming? King Thranduil mentioned Imladris and Lorien...” Bilbo inquired.

“Perhaps lord Celeborn will send representative, but I doubt that a party shall be coming.”

The meeting ended on a mild note and with a promise to reconvene. Thranduil hoped between now and then that the apparent-king would met a swift death. Those dwarrows brought nothing than ill-luck with them.

It was with great trepidation that he entered the tent. It was filled with wounded soldiers human and elven alike. He slowly migrated towards Galuchin's side, stopping to speak to a few of his soldiers. Feren was absent from his nephew’s side, no doubt arguing with some healer. He sat in the empty chair next to the cot and waited.

Tall with with red brown hair, and profound blue eyes Galuchin was one of the more handsome ellyn of Lasgalen. Yet with his eyes closed and face relaxed Thranduil only saw the child he once bounced on his knee and who participated in kitchen raids, with Legolas.

"You stubborn child." Thranduil sighed fondly. "You better not leave us."

"He will not, lest he know what is good for him." Feren replied, his exhaustion evident in his voice.

"The healers..."

"The wound is grave but he will heal." Feren explained. "He is under a healing sleep."

"That is well." A small relieved smile crossed his face for a brief moment. "When shall he wake?"

"They do not know but they are hopeful that it will be soon. My lord... Thranduil, thank you."

It was so rare that Feren used his given name , that Thranduil forgot that he knew it. "My friend, you should thank lord Bard not I. He is the one who saved your nephew."

"I do not follow." Feren said frowning.

"I went to meet with him. He was about to tackle the ruins when I found him and he handed me a shovel and told me where we would dig." he explained. A comical expression crossed Feren's face, Thranduil might have laughed had the hour not been so dour. "He is a peculiar ruler." Thranduil replied.

"Have the people decided?" Feren enquired.

"They have, though not formally. I look forward to the day king Bard will be by my side."

Feren frowned. There was a hint of prophecy in the king's voice. He never noticed when it happened and often time it did not happen the way or when they thought it would. "It will be a joyous occasion." Feren replied.

 


End file.
